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1989 Fall Newsletter

Submissions: General articles should be sent to editor Brian Pankuch at the above address. We need both 1) printed copy ( hardcopy ) and 2) a readable file on an ffiM compatible diskette , 5 1/4 or 3 1/2. We have fewer problems with 3 1/2.

COVER: Output from Chemlntosh and ChemText, see article for more details. The newsletter is produced using Aldus PageMaker 3.0, and is printed using a AST turboLaser/PS, with the help of the Union County College Resource Center.

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN:

The last ten years in education have seen a great deal of emphasis on acquiring and implementing the microcomputer into the K-16 curricula. Despite . this emphasis, extensive and meaningful uses of the computer in education is still quite spotty and limited. What the next ten years will bring is still in question. In an article, ''lnfus- . ing Computing Into the Curriculum: Challenges For the Next Decade", which appeared in the April, 1989 Academic Computing issue, David L. Smallen, Hamilton College deals with this question. In the material which follows, I have tried to summarize his more salient points.

Although there are many reasons that might be given to justify a more extensive infusion of computers, Smallen gives what he considers to be three fundamentally sound reasons: 1) the emergence of computer science as a true liberal art, 2) the need to prepare students for life in the information society, and 3)thepotential that computing has for improving the instructional process. With respect to the second point, Harlan Cleveland, Dean of the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Mfairs at the University of Minnesota stated "by the end of the century, approximately two-thirds of all work will be information work ... (computers) empower those who learn to use them to make complex judgments in the more mindful knowledge of alternative futures ... People who do not educate themselves- and keep reeducating themselvesto participate in the new knowledge environment will be the peasants of the information society." For the third point, the computer offers the possibility of individualizing instruction and simulating the real world, and, in doing so, the learning process can be made more interesting, challenging, and effective.

Smallen suggests seven challenges that stand in the way of revitalizing and recreating educational disciplines through the infusion of computers into the curriculum.

I. Provide appropriate recognition and incentives for faculty to im· prove the process of instruction. The lack of adequate reward structures for faculty software developers is a major road block. We see a parallel example to this problem in the traditional lack of college or university support for helping faculty become better teachers in comparison with support for research. Solutions to this lack of recognition lie in such things as having the process of evaluating software similar to the way other professional activities are evaluated and in providing national recognition for quality software and courseware that is developed.

II. Access, pricing, and distribution mecbanisms for instructional software must be improved. Faculty must have convenient access to information about such software that includes at least a list of names of others that have used the software in a similar setting and how to contact them. Reasonable pricing is essential so that students can afford to buy it, when asked to, and so that colleges can afford to license sufficient copies for their legitimate use. Distribution mechanisms must be set up to make it possible for faculty to obtain "desk copies" of software similar to how textbooks are handled.

III. Develop more effective planning processes for instructional use of infonnation technology resources. Informal planning methodologies dealing with instructional technology typically used in the past must be replaced with methods that maximize the impact of it in relationship to the individual institution's mission. The time has come for us to do more than talk about planning, we must make a commitment to do it.

IV. Encourage the formation of consortia of universities and colleges to deal with instructional appllcation of information technology. One of the great strengths of higher education in the U.S. is the diversity of institutions. Consortia need to be built on the various strengths of different institutions, such as coupling the incentives of the teaching institution with the technical expertise of the research university to develop teams of educators working on the problem of developing high quality software. Consortia can consider some of the significant hurdles present at smaller institutions including lack of technical expertise, access to information channels, and access to more favorable pricing for software.

V. Emphasize the role of the computer as a generallearuiDg tooL Students need to learn more software tools to help them throughout their undergraduate experience and beyond. This includes word processing, general purpose tools for problem solving, database managers, tools to improve their ability to read critically, an opportunity for creative thinking, and others.

VI. Ethical and legal use of software must become the norm. Institutions of higher education must make acommitment to the legal and ethical use of software, thus creating an atmosphere on campus that will instill in their students a respect for the law and a desire to act in an ethical manner. In part, this is accomplished by institutions licensing sufficient copies of software for expected usage levels thus eliminating the incentive to copy software illegally. In turn, vendors must recognize these efforts by making instructional software affordable. Further, those responsible for computer services should adopt policies of not helping people with software problems ifit is clear that the software is being used illegally.

VII. Information technology services organizations must create supportive environments. Smallen suggests that this should include standardizing hardware and software configurations on campus to eliminate wasted time dealing with technical interfacing problems, setting up effective software libraries or network servers for public facilities to reduce the cost of instructional software implementations, setting up classrooms equipped with large screen projectors and hookups to tie into the computer systems used in instruction, and working out standards that can be used in planning new public computing facilities.

With the varied uses of computer technology that can be made in chemistry we, as chemical educators, can play an important role in this infusion. In the words of John Kemeny, a recognized pioneer in the field of using computing for instruction, "Once you succeed in integrating the computer into the classroom, you will find that your entire style of teaching changes, and I can assure you that you will never go back to the old fashioned method ... "